Small towns have a long history of solving their own problems. In rural Quebec, dairy farmers knew they needed to work together to compete with giant corporations. In Saskatchewan, grain growers knew they needed to form buying clubs and grain handling co-ops to get by. And in Alberta, small towns had to invest in their own electricity and water infrastructure to survive.

Today, small towns face new challenges including access to healthcare, youth outmigration, business retention, service gaps, and succession planning. But those towns have the same key resources they’ve always had that allow them to tackle any problem head-on.

Peter Kenyon from the Bank of I.D.E.A.S. in Australia gave some fantastic advice to the Saskatchewan Economic Development Alliance (SEDA). “Instead of asking what’s the matter? Ask, what matters to you?” Using the ‘glass half full’ analogy he reminded us, “you can’t do anything with what you don’t have… You can only work with what you’ve got.” In particular, there are three things every town already has that they need to thrive.

  1. People with a passion

Small towns, just like co-operatives, are all about people. Every small town relies on people who are passionate about their home to ensure the community’s well-being. Ordinary people start businesses, organize slo-pitch tournaments, volunteer at the rink, and host baking auctions to fundraise for projects.

When things go wrong or something needs fixing, it’s those same people who are going to take action. In the town of Sangudo, Alberta – a town of 300 – it only took 39 people to form the Sangudo Opportunity Development Co-operative. And with that co-op they were able to support the transition of a meat processing facility to new entrepreneurs, renovate a coffee shop, build new homes, create jobs, and generate returns for members.

  1. Some Money

Although they might not realize it, every small town likely has the financial resources it needs to support its projects. Besides the cash people have in the bank, every town has untapped financial resources in RRSPs and TFSAs it could put to work locally. In 2021, Canadians contributed $56 billion to their RRSPs. Why not take a portion of those savings and invest them in your town where you can see the impact it has? Even if it’s just $500 person, the impact can still be large.

In the town of Sooke, BC, when the owner of the local coffee shop announced it would close, the regulars knew they needed to save the business. They started the Sooke Community Investment Co-op, held town hall meetings, recruited members, and sat outside the café selling shares.

According to the co-op’s president, Wendy O’Connor, people who valued the business were quick to invest. In our webinar, Community-led financing: Investing in your own backyard, she recalled a memorable investor:

“The young single mother who had just moved to Sooke and had done her research before moving, and she said ‘There were three things I needed in my community – I needed to have a good library, I needed to have a good rec centre with a swimming pool, and I needed a good coffee shop. And here’s my $500 to make that happen’.”

In just a few weeks the co-op raised the money needed to buy the café and keep it open.

  1. Space for work

As you drive through rural Canada, you’ll notice one of our biggest resources: space. Every new project needs space, whether it’s meeting space for a board to do some planning or event space to start operating. And in many cases, community-led projects can get the space they need for free. Ask your local economic development officer or town council how they can support your project. Can they provide some meeting space? Can they donate an unused parcel of land the co-op could use? Could they give you a break on property taxes to help bring this new service to your town? It doesn’t hurt to ask.

In the Rural Municipality of Piney, they asked. The Southeast Manitoba Seniors Community Service Co-operative is a community-owned co-op created to provide seniors’ housing so people who’ve lived in Piney all their lives can age in place. Recognizing the value this kind of service will bring, the non-profit organization East Borderland Community Housing, which owns the property, committed to donating it to the project once the co-op has the funding in place. The RM has agreed to let the co-op’s board to meet in its offices and provide support on the co-op’s board.

Want to get started?

During his presentation to SEDA, Kenyon quoted the well-known co-op entrepreneur Father Moses Coady, who played a role in the “Antigonish Movement” in the early 20th century: “We are motivated by what we don’t have to use what we do have to get what we want”.

So, if there’s something missing in your town, why not use what you’ve already got to fix that? You don’t need to do it alone. Our team of experts can work with you to make sure a co-op is the right fit, and help you through the start-up process.